Inuyasha, the Bounty Hunter
by thewerewolfgirl
Summary: The emperor hires Inuyasha to bring him a young girl named Kagome, and in return he will reward him the Shikon no Tama. But as he begins to develop feelings for his captive, will he be able to go through with his original plans?
1. Chapter 1

"Bring her to me," the Emperor said in a low, malevolent voice, "alive."

Inuyasha looked at the sketch, clearly puzzled. "Her? Hmph! She's hardly more than a child! What could she possibly–"

"Do not question my motives, bounty hunter! If you wish to receive the reward, then you shall deliver the girl to me. Is that clear?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Piece of cake."

* * *

"Stop! Thief!" someone shouted from the village square. Kagome looked up to see a small kitsune running frantically past her. She snatched him off the ground by his tail.

"Lemmie go!" he shrieked.

"Shippo," she said in exasperation, "you've been stealing again!" The young fox demon continued to struggle in her grasp, clutching a small pouch of coins to his chest. Kagome sighed and said gently, "Please give those coins back to their owner."

"But–" he sighed, ceasing his futile struggle. "Okaaaay..." Kagome set him down on the ground, just as the man who owned the coins ran up. Shippo thrust the pouch up at him. "Here," he said regretfully. "Sorry I took it." He didn't sound sorry at all.

The man counted the coins, and with a satisfied "hmph" he walked off.

Shippo glared up at Kagome. "He didn't deserve that money! He said I was just a baka street urchin!"

Kagome tried to hide her smile as she replied, "Shippo-chan, you have to learn to ignore comments like that!"

"Well, one of these days I'm going to be a strong youkai like my father was, and people like that guy are going to pay!"

Amused, Kagome swept the little orphan into her arms. "C'mon, you can have dinner at my house again." Twilight was descending upon the village as she carried Shippo outside the gates, toward her family's small cottage at the edge of the forest. The two friends were unaware of the silver-haired hanyou watching them from the shadows...

* * *

Inuyasha watched the girl carry the young kitsune into the cottage, an amused grin on his face. "Heh heh heh! Soon enough I will have her... And then the Shikon no Tama will finally be mine!" He unsheathed the Tetsaiga and ran his finger along the sharp blade. "Too bad I can't kill her..." He jumped down from the tall tree and stalked toward the cottage.

* * *

Kagome awoke with a start, sitting up in her bed. She looked around the room, sensing that something wasn't quite right. Shippo's soft snoring, as he slept curled up at her feet, and the cacophony of insects outside were the only noises that she could hear. Yet what had awakened her?

She layed back down with a sigh. It must have just been a dream, she thought sleepily. Still, something seemed amiss. _Oh, you're just being a scaredy-cat. Go back to sleep! _She told herself firmly.

She was just drifting once again into slumber, when a hand clamped over her mouth. She let out a muffled "mmph!" and began to thrash around.

Rough hands yanked her to her feet, and she bit down hard on her attackers hand, which was still pressed tightly over her mouth. "D, you bit me!" An angry voice exclaimed, and she was sharply smacked across the cheek. Before she even had a chance to scream, he pressed a rag over her nose and mouth that smelled strongly of chemicals, and slowly... things began... to become dim...

* * *

Inuyasha slung the limp girl over his shoulder and leaped out the window, heading briskly through the forest. "That was all to easy," he said triumphantly, a cocky smile playing on his lips. He came to a stop by a small stream, setting the girl down against a tree. It was too dark for even his sharp eyes to see her face properly, but he could tell that she was younger than he originally thought. "What could the emperor possibly want with such a young girl?" He shrugged. "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter as long as I get my Jewel."

Suddenly the girl's eyes began to flutter open. _What? The fumes wore off already? Cheap crap! It's supposed to last for hours! _He shook his head angrily.

The girl moaned and said, "Where am I?"

Inuyasha let out a slight growl and yanked her to her feet.

"C'mon! We're wasting time."

She shrieked. "Who are you?! Let me go!"

Inuyasha let her struggle for a moment, taking pleasure in her terror. Then he flung her over her shoulder and once again began walking through the forest.

"Put me down! Someone– HELP!!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Considering this is my first fanfic, I don't expect it to be extremely popular or anything. Some constructive criticism would be nice. :) I will add chapter two after I get a few reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was just edging its way above the horizon, and the girl continued to struggle. Inuyasha was becoming increasingly impatient. "Will you shut the h up!?" he finally growled, hoisting her off his back and setting her down roughly in front of him.

"You vile hentai!" she spat, glaring at him. Anger belied her fear.

Inuyasha smirked."You show so much spirit for one so young," he said mockingly. "How old are you, 13?"

"15, not that it concerns you! And–" She cut herself short, staring at Inuyasha strangely.

"Why are you looking at me like that!?"

"Y-you have dog ears," she breathed. "You're a youkai!" Suddenly she reached up and touched them, a fascinated look in her eyes.

"Hands off!" Inuyasha snarled, slapping her hands away. "How dare you!?"

He reared his hand back to slap her again, but suddenly, "OW! What the–?" A small kitsune had clamped his teeth down on Inuyasha's arm.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried. "What are you doing here!?"

He jumped off Inuyasha and ran over to Kagome."I woke up and you were gone, and I caught a strange scent so I came to find you!" The little fox demon was close to tears.

Inuyasha cuffed him over the head.

"Evil youkai!" Kagome screetched, "He's just a kid!"

Shippo suddenly erupted into laughter, despite his pain. "Youkai! Pah! He's a hanyou! A worthless halfbreed!"

"Worthless!? I'll show you worthless!"

Kagome snatched Shippo up, noticing that it wasn't just anger in the hanyou's eyes from the kitsune's insult. _Is that... pain?_"Shippo!" She scolded. "You know not to say things like that!"

"B-b-but I was defending you!" he spluttered.

She didn't know why, but for some reason it seemed wrong to call the hanyou worthless, even if he'd kidnapped her. And she couldn't bear that look of misery hidden beneath his anger.

Inuyasha was confused that the girl would defend him like that, and he stood over her for a moments hesitation. Finally he grunted and snapped, "Get up, and get a move on! We're wasting time!"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere, and you can't make me!"

"Wanna bet!? You'll come with me if I have to drag you every step of the way! The emperor–"

"The emperor?" A look of realization came to her eyes. "You're a bounty hunter aren't you? What the heck would the emperor want with me!?"

Inuyasha was curious about that as well, but he remained silent.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway! I'm not going!"

"Oh yes you are!" He snatched Shippo off the ground by his tail. "Either you come quietly, or your little friend here dies!"

"Kagome!" Shippo screetched.

"Shippo!" She glared at Inuyasha. "Leave him alone! Fine, I'll come, I'll come!"

With a smirk, Inuyasha threw the little kitsune down at Kagome's feet. "Now hurry up, you walk ahead of me so I can keep my eye on you."

"Grrrrrrr..."

Inuyasha laughed. "Did you just growl!?"

"Hmph!" She stomped ahead of him, her head held high, trying to hold on to her remaining shred of dignity.

* * *

They walked on through the forest for hours, and Kagome's legs soon became quite sore. She began tripping over roots and snagging her clothes on briars, and soon her hanyou captor snapped, "If you don't pick up the pace then I'm going to carry you!"

She shot him a dirty look and tried her best to walk faster.

Suddenly Inuyasha's hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she whirled around. "What is it now?"

"Shhhhhh!" he hissed, silencing her.

She strained her ears, and soon a faint rustling could be heard from somewhere behind them. A look of extreme annoyance and distaste swept over the hanyou's face.

"Kouga," he snarled, just as a man came crashing through the trees.

Kagome stared at the newcomer in surprise. He had long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and... _is that a tail!?_ _Another youkai!_

"Inuyasha, what a surprise!" the man said with a triumphant smirk. "And who's this? My, how pretty." He nodded toward Kagome.

"Kouga, you stay out of this!" Inuyasha snarled.

"I think not. That girl has quite a bounty on her head, now doesn't she? Quite frankly, the emperor didin't think you were capable enough to bring him his prize, so he sent me as a reassurance. Now, hand over the girl and I'll be on my way!"

Fury shone in Inuyasha's eyes as he drew the Tetsaiga. "Back off, the bounty's mine! It'll be a cold day in h before I let you claim the reward!"

Kouga laughed in Inuyasha's face, causing the hanyou further infuriation.

Meanwhile, Kagome was seething. "How dare you talk about me like I'm some. . .some. . ._thing_ to be passed from person to person!?"

The two bounty hunters completely ignored the enraged Kagome as they locked in mortal strife.

"Wind scar!" Inuyasha bellowed, swinging the sword perilously close to Kouga.

The wolf-demon nimbly dodged and landed roughly on the hanyou's back.

Through her anger, a faint smile formed on Kagome's lips. _They're so busy fighting, they won't notice if I slip away._"C'mon Shippo," she whispered, glancing nervously toward Inuyasha and Kouga.

She tip-toed away from the the struggle, trying not to step on any twigs or dry leaves.

"SHE'S GETTING AWAY!" Kouga yelled, and in this moment of distraction, Inuyasha whacked him hard with the handle of his sword, knocking him out.

"What do you think you're doing!? Get back here!"

In an instant, Kagome found herself hurdling toward the ground as the silver-haired hanyou pounced on top of her. "Waaaaaugh! OW! Get off me!"

Inuyasha clambered to his feet and roughly jerked Kagome up in front of him.

"Thought you could get away, did you?"

He reared back his hand to hit her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, pathetically covering her face with her arms..

When the pain never came, she opened her eyes in confusion. "Huh?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Hmph! Come on, let's go!"

_He... didn't hit me. _

_Why couldn't I hit her? _Inuyasha was just as puzzled as Kagome, but he hid his confusion in his stony gaze.

They both sighed inwardly, and wearily began walking again, with Shippo following close behind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I know the first two chapters are pretty short, but I promise I will make them longer in the future. I hope you will continue to enjoy this, and please send me any advice to help improve my writing. :)


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